AURORA | Aurora’s City Council put off renovations that would make its meeting space more accessible to wheelchair users on Monday, saying they will wait for a revised cost estimate and a list of city facilities requiring similar work.
Currently, members of the public who use a wheelchair must use a lift to access the floor of the Paul Tauer Council Chamber — for example, if they want to make a public comment. To access the dais, wheelchair users enter the chamber via a ramp extending downward from the adjacent Aurora Room.
While Elly Watson of Aurora’s Public Works Department said the council chamber complies with the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, other council members described the lack of a ramp leading to the floor of the chamber as degrading for wheelchair users.
“The current option we have with the lift for public comment is, frankly, humiliating,” Councilmember Curtis Gardner said. “If we had extensive public comment from the disabled public, and we had public commenter after public commenter where that had to happen, I think it would be embarrassing for us to have to sit through that.”
Watson told the council during their Monday study session that the proposed project would involve building a ramp that would extend to the floor of the council chamber through where a storage room currently exists.
The existing lift would be removed to make room for another ramp leading to the dais. Additional accessible seating would also be added, and the room would be repainted and recarpeted during the construction, which would take several months.
The work would cost about $840,000 in addition to about $113,000 that the city has spent already on design and permit fees. And the council would either have to return to meeting remotely, which staffers recommended, or meet in a lower-occupancy space like the Aurora Room for the duration of the work.
Funding for the project would include about $750,000 of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation as well as $203,000 in building repair funds.
While Deputy City Manager Laura Perry suggested that only building the ramp to the floor of the chamber would cost less and allow the council to continue meeting in the space during construction, staffers were unable to provide an estimate of the cost savings.
Ultimately, a majority of council members agreed that the council should wait for the city to ask for bids for building the single ramp and wait for staffers to provide a list of other city facilities that have yet to be brought into compliance with the ADA.
“I am a little concerned,” said Mayor Mike Coffman. “We have one-time federal funds, and we’re spending them on a (facility) that’s ADA-compliant, and we have outstanding (facilities) that are not ADA-compliant.”
Gardner and Councilmember Crystal Murillo both objected to postponing the work. Watson estimated it would take between three and four months to again solicit bids.
Aurora lawmakers put off accessibility upgrades at City Hall pending more information - Sentinel Colorado - Sentinel Colorado
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment